A Canadian becomes a new dad in Japan

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Category Archives: Family Outing

Yesterday, we went to a new park that’s near Shonandai Station, though it is about a 30 minute walk to get there. It’s on the east side of the Sakai River, which means it’s in Yokohama. It has a birdwatching area, tennis courts, soccer field, baseball diamonds, and an interpretive centre that shows all the kinds of birds and fish in the area, as well as how they created the park. The northern portion, which is in Fujisawa, is still being built. It’s a pretty extensive project, and is quite nice. Looks great for both nature and sports.

We went to the splash park next to the baseball diamonds, and it’s Tomoe’s first time wearing a swimsuit and spending any amount of time in water outside of the bathroom. The water was cold, but it was a hot and humid day at 31 degrees. The water felt wonderful. My wife and I got our feet wet, but Tomoe got her entire body wet. Here’s a short video of her time.

After spending about 30 minutes there, we decided to go. The sun was strong, so we didn’t want to spend too much time out. However, Tomoe had other plans. She protested and cried for about 10 minutes. She was not happy. But I’d love to go again. That cold water felt wonderful. There’s one nearer our home at Akibadai Park, a sports centre that has a regular swimming pool, but you have to pay to get in. However, I want to go swimming.

The skills this little girl has keep growing. It’s amazing to watch her develop. She can build a tower with her blocks.

She’s getting really good with her hands.

But a couple days ago, she showed us just how cute she can be. Tomoe was in an incredibly good mood for much of the day, and it started out with a shower. I gave her a shower, which she loves. She plays with the water, she washes her hands with the soap, and she behaves very well. After the shower, she decided she wanted to wear my slippers.

Her feet are a bit too small.

I later went out with her to pick up my wife from the bus stop near the local Ito Yokado, and we went out for some sushi. Tomoe doesn’t yet eat raw fish, so she ate mainly just rice and French fries, as well as drank some apple juice. She not only fed the fries to herself, but she also offered them to my wife and I. She was feeding us! She loved it. We gave her some ketchup, but instead of eating the fries with the ketchup, she kept licking it off the potatoes.

After eating, we walked to the drug store to get a few things we needed. On the way, she started singing and dancing. She moved her arms kind of like the Go-go, but it was part of a dance that she learned at her nursery. She did it for about 10 straight minutes. It was an overload of cuteness!

After shopping, Tomoe wanted to carry some of the things we bought, so we gave her the tissues.

She was so happy to help us!

Unfortunately, they weren’t that easy for her to carry all the way, and she kept dropping it. But she really wanted to carry it. In the end, we carried it, and she complained.

This morning, after getting her ready to go to the nursery, the driver picking her up finally arrived. He was a bit later than usual. Instead of carrying Tomoe out, I let her walk out to the car herself. When she saw him and the car, she ran to him and he picked her up, putting her in the car. She loves the nursery. And I think she learns a lot there.

Today’s new words include: mugicha (barley tea in Japanese) and eye (I was pointing out an eye, and she repeated me).

On Friday, we had a very busy day. While visiting the clinic, we had an hour wait, so we went to Denny’s for breakfast.

Playing a game on the iPod.

The checkup at the clinic went well. Tomoe is feeling better after yet another cold. This time, just runny nose and cough. No fever. We then headed to Chigasaki where my wife had to run into work for a short while. Tomoe and I went to Chigasaki’s Chuo Park for some fun. There was a pond with a waterfall and many dragonflies. There was so much space, I let Tomoe run around on her own and just enjoy herself.

Next to a big tree.

Freedom!

She loves pushing her stroller around.

But the highlight of the day was Southern Beach. This was Tomoe’s opportunity to get her feet wet and experience the ocean water. We didn’t have swimsuits, but she could enjoy the water. Or so we thought. She slept the entire time.

Sakura is a girl’s name, but Tomoe didn’t meet a girl named Sakura. She saw sakura, or cherry blossoms, last Friday. Unfortunately, they weren’t fully blooming in the park we were at. But we got to enjoy the park.

Having fun in the park.

What’s that back there?

Walking along.

Grass doesn’t scare me anymore!

I used to cry when I touched the grass.

Help! Daddy’s chasing me!

This is fun!

I love slides!

Why am I in this stroller? I want to walk!

I’m flying up to the cherry blossoms!

Daddy and me!

That was our fun day.

Now Tomoe is 14 months old, and her separation anxiety is quite strong. She really doesn’t like sleeping in her own bed again. In fact, she now tries to climb out of her bed. She can get her leg over the side, and I’m afraid that she’ll completely climb out and fall on the floor. She cries a lot at night, even if she’s being held.

She’s also been hugging a lot lately. She’ll lean into me and hold on sometimes. She really enjoys being close to us. A couple days ago, she walked over to me while I was on my computer and just wanted to sit with me. She happily watched me use the computer.

Sometimes she just plays with it. Ever since she started getting her teeth, she’s been able to eat more solid food. Tomoe no longer needs us to break up large things into small pieces all the time, such as with bread. She just bites it. She loves to eat carrots, tangerines, and fish hamburg steak. She loves meat.

We took her to a restaurant, ordered some food for her, and she ate with a fork and spoon. Of course, she didn’t do it herself. But eventually, she ate with her fingers. The rice was messy, as was the spinach. However, the hamburg steak, fried potatoes, and sausage were easy for her to eat with her hands. She really loves food.

Tomoe was so excited for her birthday, she fell asleep yesterday morning.

She took off her pants.

Well, I’m pretty sure Tomoe has no idea what a birthday is. But today, we had some fun with her. We went to Terrace Mall Shonan at Tsujido to visit our favourite kids’ play areas, Kid-o-Kid. This was her first time there since she started walking. I’ve got a few pictures to share.

Playing with her favourite gears. We actually bought her a set of this for her birthday. Maybe she’ll be an engineer.

Playing with her eyes closed? I just caught her blinking.

She loves the ball pit.

She can actually hold the balls.

Looking from way up.

And another from above.

She discovered some baby birds behind this panel.

She had fun, but was pretty sleepy. So, we went to get lunch, and she fell asleep. However, she did wake up before we finished eating, so she had a snack.

Eating some bread.

Well, that was her birthday! On other topics, she’s become quite the copycat. She has yet to repeat what we say, but she mimics what we do. She’s learning by copying. What she’s been saying has become more and more complex. She doesn’t just repeat the same syllable over and over, but she combines many different sounds to make baby talk. I think we’ll hear her first word soon.

It’s always amazing to see Tomoe learn new things. Lately, she’s been learning something new almost every day. She’s starting to figure things out.

She has a big 6 sided toy that’s also her toy box. On one side, there’s a door, which she has learned to open and close. She always tries to find that side of the cube and open it up so she can get the toys out. Not only that, she’s also perfected the skill of emptying out her toy box and throwing everything on the floor from her bed.

As for playing with toys, I’ve taught her how to bounce a ball. Now when she has a ball, she’ll throw it down and bounce it. Unfortunately, she sometimes does that with other toys, too.

A really big thing she’s learned is kissing. If I give her a kiss on the cheek, she’ll lean in and kiss me on the cheek, too. She hasn’t done it with her mom, though.

Recently, when she’s been hungry, she’ll get our attention a way other than crying. When we were coming home from the in-laws’ house last night, she was hungry on the train. She grabbed my wife’s hand and pulled. Her hand was over her bottle and senbei (rice crackers). She wanted some! She’s learning quite a bit these days.

Not really a skill, but she’s really loving riding on my shoulders. She always seems to be really happy up there.

Yesterday, as I said, we were at the in-laws for New Year’s Day. We ate a lot. Tomoe really enjoyed seeing the family, and there were family members that loved seeing her. The ones who especially wanted to spend time with her were her great-grandfather (he’s the kind of elderly man who is always smiling and friendly) and her second cousin (a 12 year old girl). But we found that although she enjoyed the company of the family, she usually wanted to be with my wife or I.